A Gang of Elderly Man won $200 By Cheating at Three-Card Poker Table

One of the men was talking to the dealer, while the other two palmed cards under the table

A group of four elderly men was accused of cheating at a three-card poker table at a casino in Minnesota. As the Star Tribune reports, all of the men were in their 70s and they won around $200 in July, 2013.

“Integrity is important,” said Jeff Maday, the media relation representative of the casino. He also pointed out the importance of fair games and explained how the four men quickly won the money and left the casino.

Only one of the men was found by the police and is now held in jail. His name is Duane L. Racle and he is 75 years old. The other three accomplices are Wildred Sanchez (74 years old), James P. Minehan (75 years old) and Nicholas R. Crowder (77 years old).

All of them are charged with felonies, even though with their actions they earned only $50 each. The court has set a bail of $50,000 for the imprisoned Racle. They are all known to the authorities for committing similar offenses in the past.

They Could Not Trick the Surveillance Camera

This gang had a well-known cheating strategy that could have been successful if the surveillance camera did not record their activity. As the reports say, three of the men sat at the three-card poker table, while the fourth one remained standing.

One of them had the task to keep the dealer busy, while the other two were swapping cards under the table. The man who was standing was acting as a shield, trying to block the camera’s angle of recording. Nevertheless, they failed since they were captured on the camera and the police was informed.

However, what they did succeed was winning over $200 and leaving the casino without being caught.

They Are Neither the First nor the Last to Get Caught

Players trying to trick the dealer and win money by cheating are not a surprise in the gambling business. Back in December 2013, two men from Michigan were caught after they were working together against the dealer and won couple of games. The five-card poker table at which they were playing was observed resulting in the authorities noticing their cheating system and arresting them.

Another man in Cleveland, Ohio was facing more than 130 charges after the police caught him cheating at a blackjack table and accumulating over $4,000 by illegal gambling activities. He was known to the police for various offences such as stealing or drugs dealing. They have never charged him about casino cheating before. However, once he was first caught cheating in May, 2014 the investigators found out about all of his previous illegal actions at the very same casino.

Also in 2013, a man came to Connecticut with the intention to collect money by cheating at a poker table because he needed bond money. The story got more interesting when the police found out he was already once arrested on the same charges and that was exactly why he needed the bond money. However, it must be noted that he was very inventive – he used infrared lenses for counting previously marked cards.